The present invention relates to a spacer device for separating pairs of cigarettes in a filter fitting machine.
In filter fitting machines the technique normally adopted for obtaining filter cigarettes, starting from cigarette pieces consists in making said pieces advance in pairs along a conveyor on which the cigarette pieces of each pair are aligned with one another within a single recess. Each pair of cigarette pieces is then fed onto a conveyor serving as a separator or spacer on which the said two cigarette pieces are progressively separated from one another in an axial sense until there is defined between their facing ends a space which can receive a double filter from another conveyor. The ends of the double filter are then connected to the ends of the two cigarette pieces, thus forming a double cigarette which can be converted into two cigarettes simply by cutting the said double filter in half.
The axial separation of the cigarette pieces of each pair on the conveyor serving as a separator (generally comprising a roller) is obtained by means of retractors disposed centrally with respect to the said pairs cigarette pieces and acting simultaneously on the two pieces of each pair. Such roller has a constructional complexity and a structure which makes it extremely exposed to the infiltration of tobacco dust after lengthy operation, and in particular at the high production speeds of modern filter fitting machines.
This constitutes an obstacle to the correct operation of the spacer device.
Because of this complexity the unavoidable cleaning operations are particularly laborious.